Armored Riders of Mitakihara City
by monkeycyborgninja
Summary: In an effort to finally escape her time loops, Akemi Homura pilfers Sengoku Drivers and Lockseeds from Yggdrasil and distributes them to those that have played a significant role in shaping Madoka's fate so far. No longer weighed down by their limitations as Magical Girls, will they finally all come together to defeat Walpurgisnacht, or create a "Rider Sengoku Jidai" of their own?
1. Henshin! The Raspberry of Justice!

**A/N: …You know what, I'm not even gonna bother with any excuses, I haven't been feeling up for writing any of my current stories, so I decided to shit out a chapter for a little plot bunny I've had in my head for the past few weeks. That being said, I'll probably end up abandoning this story too eventually, so don't expect frequent updates after maybe the third chapter, if I even get that far. Still, I hope you guys enjoy in my self indulgent side story, so without further a do, let's get to it.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider Gaim or Puella Magi Madoka Magica**

* * *

 **Henshin! The Raspberry of Justice!**

It was late at night in Zawame City, though the activity in the streets has calmed down compared to the morning, Yggdrasil Tower was as active as ever, workers and scientists scrambling from room to room as an alarm sounded all throughout the facility. A tall and serious looking man, whose very presence demanded respect, marched down the halls to the main security office for the R&D department, of which he was the head. As he barged in he was met with the sight of multiple uniformed men and women frantically looking at monitors and passing papers and thumb drives between each other, very few stopped what they were doing at the sound of someone entering.

"What is the meaning of this, what happened?!" The man demanded, finally gaining their attention, everyone recognizing the man as their superior.

"Well, that is what we are trying to discern, sir." Someone who looked like the lead security officer said as he stood and faced the man, as he began to gesture over to the monitors. "We were going through out routine security sweep when suddenly multiple different alarms from multiple different sectors started going off." He explained.

"Any sign of the intruders?" The man inquired as he began examining the monitors himself.

"None sir, we have yet to find any trace of any unauthorized personal _anywhere_ within Yggdrasil Tower." Another security officer replied.

"Was the system tampered with from the outside?" The man suggested.

"Not likely, there is no trace of any hacking or spyware in our security mainframe." Another officer stated.

"Then how…?" The man said with frustration, but decided to leave the _how_ for later and focus on the _why_. "What sectors have been breached?"

"Looking at the alarms that were tripped, there's a clear path of entry from the top floor, and the trail ends at a storage room in the R&D department." The head officer explained.

"Storage room, don't tell me… was anything taken?" He asked with a hint of urgency in his voice.

"We have confirmed… 8 items missing from storage." An officer replied, bringing up the files of the items stored in the room, with ones confirmed to be missing colored red.

"I knew it, they were here for…" He stopped his train of thought and stood up straight to give an order. "Continue monitoring the building and send some officers to check the area around the tower, we must find the thief at all costs!" He ordered with no small degree of urgency, before marching out of the room. ' _If they knew about_ that _, just how much do they know about Project Ark?_ ' He thought to himself as he made his way to his office.

Meanwhile, outside on a rooftop with a panoramic view of the city, a young girl, no older then fourteen, stood in the shadow of a water tower as she gazed at Yggdrasil Tower in the distance, before looking down at the strange device she had procured from it, a black "belt buckle" with a yellow knife attached on one side of it. Her mind flooded with thoughts as she began to clutch the device in her hand, before putting it away in what seemed to be a round, silver shield and then disappearing.

* * *

"So, so, how are you going to respond _this_ time?" A blue haired middle schooler asked in a teasing manner to a green haired girl who seemed to be her friend.

"Mmm, I'm really not sure," The green haired girl replied, her voice unsure and frustrated, yet retaining an air of sophistication rare for her age. "This one's anonymous too, so I can't really judge him until we meet face to face."

"Hitomi-chan really is popular, this is your second love letter this month right?" A third friend, a petite pink haired girl with pigtails, added, a certain degree of admiration in her voice. The three girls were students of Mitakihara Municipal Middle School and were currently on the school's roof eating their lunch and discussing Hitomi's dilemma.

"Yes, and this one is so eloquently written, he must have really tried hard." Hitomi replied before taking a bite of her food.

"Well no sense brooding over it, after all you're just going to turn him down anyway, right?" The blunette Sayaka said after she swallowed the food in her mouth.

"That doesn't make it any easier to turn them down, especially when they show this kind of effort, and they always look so sad after words." Hitomi replied, recalling the last boy she turned down.

"Well then maybe you should give this one a chance," The pinkette Madoka suggested. "I know you don't have much time after school with all of the classes your taking, but if he likes you so much maybe he'll just be satisfied with seeing you on the weekends."

"…Maybe you're right." Madoka had tried to sound as optimistic as possible but it didn't seem to do much to ease Hitomi's worries, in fact the thought of actually going out with this boy seemed to distress her slightly. Just then, they heard the chime of the bell echo throughout the roof, signaling that lunch break was ending. "Oh, there's the bell, we better get going." Hitomi said as she and her friends packed their leftovers and headed back to class, Hitomi secretly relieved.

The rest of the day went by as usual, their teacher incorporating stories of her boyfriend all throughout the lesson until the final bell rang.

"See you tomorrow." Hitomi said as she grabbed her bag from her locker and took her leave.

"Yeah, see ya." Sayaka replied with a wave.

"Have fun at your piano lesson." Madoka added.

"So I guess it's just you and me today Madoka, you wanna stop by the mall or something on the way home?" Sayaka asked as they made their way to their own lockers.

"Yeah, that sounds great." Madoka replied with an enthusiastic nod. "I heard the café there is having a special on parfaits."

"Oh yeah, I've been meaning to check that out, let's go, let's go… hm?" Sayaka complied as she opened her locker and reached for her bag, however, before she could grab hold of it, she noticed two unfamiliar objects sitting on the shelf. The first was a strange black device with a yellow knife protruding from one side, and the other, the one that held most of Sayaka's interest, was a black and silver padlock with a strange pinkish red design where the dial should be and three black screws on the side of it. Sayaka took the lock in her hand and inspected it, up close the design looked vaguely like a mechanical raspberry, with a few small rivets bordering each side to represent the drupelets, and what seemed to be green leaves still attached to the top as if freshly picked. The lock also had black stylized letters and numbers that read L.S.-17 right in the middle of the raspberry. "…What's this?" She wondered out loud as she examined the lock.

* * *

As they planned, Madoka and Sayaka went to a café they frequented at their local mall, and as they waited for the parfaits they ordered Sayaka showed Madoka the strange devices she found in her locker.

"This is… a raspberry, right?" Madoka said as she looked at the lock.

"It looks like it, doesn't it, weird right?" Sayaka replied.

"Mmm, well it is a little strange, but I kind of like it; it's a cute little fruit lock." Madoka said with an amused smile as she cradled the lock in both of her hands.

"Cute… mmm I guess," Sayaka reluctantly conceded. "But more importantly, what the heck is this thing?" She said as she held up the black device. "I mean, what is this weirdly shaped black thing supposed to be, and what's with this knife over here?" She wondered out load before pulling the knife down on its hinge, the device making a stylized cutting sound. "Oh, it makes a sound!" She exclaimed at the new discovery, pushing the knife down a few more times as if to confirm it.

"Hmm… ah, you know what, it kind of looks like a cutting board, like the ones my papa uses when he cooks." Madoka realized.

"Huh, cutting board." Sayaka considered the possibility, looking between the black device and the lock, a blank look appearing on her face. "As in, that thing you use when your cutting fruit?"

"Yeah, that would explain why the lock is fruit shaped, right?" Madoka replied proud of her deduction. However, Sayaka seemed disappointed.

"I see, so it's just a toy then, "cut open the fruit on the cutting board" or something." She said before letting out a disappointed sigh. "Geez, Hitomi gets three love letters, and I get some weird toy put in my locker, what's up with that?" She complained as she sat back in her chair.

"Speaking of which, who would give you something like this Sayaka-chan?" Madoka asked as she handed the lock back to her.

"Don't know, I doubt it's a secret admire or something, and they didn't leave a note either." Sayaka said as she took another look at the lock. "Come to think of it, how do you even open this thing, it doesn't have a keyhole or a dial for a combination or anything. Hmm, maybe you hit these screws on the side in a specific order?" She suggested before instinctively pressing the top screw, the lock immediately popping open, accompanied by a sound effect. "Oh, it already opened!" She said with surprise, however, suddenly they heard the sound of a zipper opening and looked over to see that a giant zipper was in fact opening in mid air, splitting open and letting a strange glowing creature with extravagant antlers leap through it into the café. "EHHHHH, wh-what the…!" Sayaka exclaimed nearly falling from her chair.

"A monster!" Madoka cried as well. The other patrons at the café noticed the appearance of the creature as well and many began panicking, rushing for the exit or cowering in fear. Madoka and Sayaka were doing the latter, before Sayaka realized that all it was doing was standing in place looking menacing, breathing in and our fiercely as if waiting for a battle. Curious, Sayaka slowly stood from her seat and walked over to the creature.

"S-Sayaka-chan, it's dangerous…" Madoka warned but Sayaka just seemed to ignore her as she reached out to the creature. She tried to touch its shoulder but her hand just passed right through it, the monster not having noticed her at all. She waved her hand passed its shoulder a couple more times before calming down. "Hey, it's just a hologram." She realized. "It's ok everyone, look, see, it's not real!" She said as she frantically waved her arms through the creature, distorting its image momentarily. The patrons seem to calm down upon this realization, some of them continued to admire the "hologram", while others just went about their business as usual. Madoka regained her composure as well and stood up.

"Is it… really not real?" She asked hesitantly.

"Apparently, look, I can't even touch it." Sayaka assured, once again waving her hand through it.

"Wow, it looks so life like though." Madoka said as she looked at it with amazement.

"Right?" Sayaka agreed. She looked down at the lock that was still in her hand, a curious look on her face before she closed it, the zipper portal closing as a result. "Ohh, I see, so this lock made it appear!" She said, suddenly holding the lock in much higher regard. She then looked between the "hologram" and the lock before pointing the device at the creature dramatically. "Sit!" She ordered, the creature immediately obeying. "Stand!" She ordered again, the creature once again complying. "Turn!" The creature turned. "Walk to that table!" The creature complied, stopping once it got to the table. "Sit!" And of course the creature sat.

"Amazing, it's listening to you!" Madoka said.

"I know right, maybe this is one of those, you know, virtual pet things, but taken to the next level!" Sayaka said, enthusiastically gripping the lock. "Maybe I won some sort of contest and they're letting me test it or something!"

"But, who are _they_?" Madoka wondered.

"Don't know, but whoever they are, I accept this gift wholeheartedly!" She declared.

"U-um, customers…" A slightly nervous voice called to the girls, they turned to see a waitress was addressing them. "You're parfaits are ready." She said, holding a tray with two colorful looking parfaits on it.

"Oh yay, our Parfaits!" Madoka exclaimed with glee.

"Those look really good!" Sayaka added as both girls sat down to eat. The waitress set their respective deserts down on the table and left them to enjoy. "Alright, let's dig in!" Sayaka proclaimed before setting the lock down to grab her spoon.

As soon as the lock left her hand, the "hologram" began to twitch a little before standing at attention, regaining the girl's attention as it walked over to the table it was next to. It gave out a loud gurgling noise before the yellow glow around it dissipated, the creature becoming much more solid looking before it grabbed the table and flipped it over violently, letting out an intimidating cry. The patrons were in a panic again as the creature then began to rampage around, throwing tables and even hitting away people.

"EHH, i-it became real, S-Sayaka-chan, what's happening!?" Madoka cried.

"I-I don't know, I didn't tell it to do that!" Sayaka asserted as she gripped the lock again and stood up pointing it at the creature. "Hey, stop rampaging!" She ordered, but was completely ignored. "Hey, I said stop, STOP, come on, listen to your master damn it!" She desperately tried to order it, but it was useless. "Grr, why isn't it working?!" She asked frustrated. She examined the lock to find something to help, and then noticed the hexagon shaped plug on the back of it, and then remembered the other device also had a shape similar to it. "Oh right, the cutting board thing!" She said as she picked it up and examined it. "Maybe I have to put it in here to fully control it or something!" She suggested before opening the lock and trying to place it into the device.

However, this seemed to get the monster's attention, as it stopped attacking a bystander and sniffed at the air, as if it picked up a scent.

"Oh come on, it's not staying on!" Sayaka complained as the lock refused to stay in the belt, and erroneous noise sounding every time she tried to put it in place. The monster turned to her and began to eye the lock, growling and slowly approaching.

"S-Sayaka-chan, the monster…!" Madoka said as she hid behind her friend and pointed at it. Sayaka looked up and saw that monster begin to charge at her.

"Ahh, no, stay away!" She cried as she pointed the lock at it in a desperate attempt to stop it, but it simply lunged at her, the two girls ducking under it as it crashed into their table. "Madoka, run!" Sayaka exclaimed before closing the lock and grabbing her friend's hand and running away.

They ran as far as their legs could carry them, ending up in a storage area inside the mall, trying to distance themselves from the audible cries of the monster.

"S-Sayaka-chan, I-I can't run anymore…" Madoka stated as she suddenly stopped and dropped to her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"We can't stop now Madoka, that thing's right behind us!" She reminded as she tried to help her friend to her feet.

"I-I'm sorry, I just can't…" Madoka lamented. "Forget about me… just go on ahead…"

"What are you saying Madoka, you're my best friend, I can't just leave you!" Sayaka stated before examining the devices again. "There has to be something, anything… what even _are_ you cutting board thing!" She asked as she gripped it tightly and shook it, she turned it around and suddenly she noticed that it wasn't a flat board at all, in fact it was slightly curved, as if it was supposed to fit around something… like a waist.

"Wait, could this be…" Sayaka took the black device in her right hand, taking one last glance at its curvature and placed it on her waist, a bright yellow belt strap appearing and wrapping around her waist with a click, the blank plate on the left hand side of it flashing and an image of a figure wearing a blue helmet next to some musical Staff with notes on them appearing. "Ohh, so it really is a belt!" Sayaka said, happy she finally figured out what the device was.

Right at that moment, the monster turned the corner, eyeing the two girls menacingly and growling at them. Madoka cowered a bit but Sayaka seemed a bit more determined.

"Madoka, get somewhere safe." She said.

"Eh, but Sayaka-chan, what are you going to…" Madoka replied with great concern, but Sayaka just cracked a comforting smile.

"It's ok, whatever this thing does, I'm sure it'll help us, I'll… definitely protect you." She assured. Madoka still looked worried, but she had complete faith in Sayaka, so she just nodded and went to hide behind some boxes. Sayaka then turned her attention back to the monster; it seemed to be squaring up for a fight. Sayaka gripped the lock one last time before pointing it at the monster. "Alright, here goes nothing!" She exclaimed before opening the lock.

" _Raspberry!_ " The lock exclaimed along with the opening sound effect. Right above Sayaka, a round zipper portal opened up and down from it came what seemed to be a metal raspberry, the sides made of three fused domes to represent the drupelets and the top having two green leaf-like slabs. Sayaka didn't notice it right away, but Madoka looked at it quizzically. The blunette then placed the lock into the belt and closed it.

" _Lock On!_ " The belt exclaimed before standby music began playing, it sounded like a modernized Chinese tune.

"Oh, that's pretty catchy." Sayaka remarked.

"Um, Sayaka-chan…" Madoka tried to tell her about the Raspberry above her, but wasn't heard.

"Alright, place the fruit on the cutting board, and then… cut it open!" She stated as she pulled down the blade, slicing through the lock, opening it.

" _Hai!_ " The belt exclaimed, the image on bottom lid of the lock glowing and expanding, revealing an illustration of what seemed to be a Raspberry themed sword.

"Sayaka-chan, above you!" Madoka warned as the Raspberry began falling.

Sayaka looked up just in time to see the Raspberry before it landed over her head, spilling out juice like energy that covered her body and turned her clothes into a light blue and black undersuit with gold rimming that looked vaguely like the suit of a Chinese soldier. On the gauntlets and loincloth were gold waving musical staffs with a few notes on them.

"Ehh, what, what is this, huh?" Sayaka said from inside the metal raspberry. Suddenly, she was cut off by a full faced mask and helmet appearing on her head before a second pinkish red helmet fell onto her, changing the color of her two visors from clear to red.

" _Raspberry Arms: Ji, an, HA-HA-HA!_ " The belt exclaimed as the metal raspberry began to fold out and form a pinkish red chest plate, back plate, and pauldrons. Finally, two identical weapons, the Raspberry Jian, appeared in her hands, they were duel Jian swords with a guard made up of pinkish red cylinders to form a raspberry like hexagon. The blade was green and leaf like halfway up before becoming a more common silver color. Her helmet was also revealed to be the same pinkish red with two green "leaves" placed on top for aesthetics, and on either side was a golden fortissimo symbol, in line with her musical theme.

"Huh, whoa, whoa, WHOA!" Sayaka exclaimed as she admired her new attire. "No way, this is… Henshin Hero, right!?"

"Sayaka-chan…Henshined?" Madoka was shocked about as much as Sayaka was, but all it did for the monster was make it angrier.

It let out a loud roar as it leaped toward Sayaka, the armored girl noticing just in time to duck out of the way. She then dodged a few swipes from the creature before she finally remembered that she was armed and slashed at it with her right sword, sparks flying from where the blade met its chest. The force was enough to make the creature take a few steps back, giving Sayaka the opportunity to land two more slashes on the creature, sending it tumbling to the ground. Sayaka looked at the smoking swords in awe, blown away that she was actually fighting as a Henshin Hero.

"Alright, I can do this, bring it on you bastard!" She cried as she charged towards the monster once it was back on its feet.  
Sayaka tried to slash at it again, but this time the monster stepped to the side to avoid it and then ducked under a second slash from the same sword, leaving Sayaka open for a front kick to the chest that put her on her back. The monster tried to leap onto her, but she quickly rolled away and stood back up, entering a defensive stance in preparation for the creature's next move. The two squared each other up for a moment before the monster lunged forward, Sayaka swinging her sword at it but it blocked it away and leaving her open for a strike to the face that made her stumble back, however, she regained her composure just in time to block a strike to her head with her swords and landed a kick to the creature's stomach, sending it back a few feet. The two then began trading blows, the monster managing to block most of Sayaka's slashes though it didn't have that much luck landing attacks of its own.

Eventually, Sayaka managed to block a double palm strike to her chest and thrusted both of her swords into the monster's gut causing it stagger, and just as it regained its composure, Sayaka advanced and landed two slashes with each blade before striking with them both at the same time in a powerful twin vertical slash, the monster falling to the ground and rolling a few feet away, struggling to get back up from the pain.

"Alright, time to finish it… wait, how do I do that?" Sayaka wondered, looking down at the belt for an extra switch or button or something to initiate the finishing move this form surely had. However, the only thing this belt had was the knife. "Maybe I push this down again?" She said as she used the pommel of her right sword to push the knife back down on the lock.

" _Hai! Raspberry Squash!_ " The belt exclaimed as the guards of the Raspberry Jian began to glow with pinkish red orbs of energy and then flew off and collected into the blades of the weapons.

"Whoa, ok, TAKE THIS!" Sayaka cried as she charged the weakly standing monster before landing a powerful cross slash, the swords leaving behind musical staff after images. The creature's wounds glowed with the pinkish red energy before it took a few steps back and exploded in a brilliant blast of drupelet shaped energy. Sayaka couldn't help but breath heavily as she began to come down from the adrenaline rush she had experienced the whole battle. Once she finally caught her breath she slowly began to realize that the battle was over, and that she had won.

"I won… I… I did it, I WON!" She exclaimed, raising her twin blades in the air in celebration.

"Sayaka-chan!" Madoka called as she trotted up to her from her hiding spot.

"Did you see that Madoka, huh, did you?" Sayaka prodded almost playfully.

"Yeah, you were amazing, Sayaka-chan!" Madoka replied with a bright smile.

"I know right, he was pretty tough, but he was no match for my, um, Raspberry Jian!" Sayaka said as she brandished her weapons, recalling the driver announcing the type of blade they were during the transformation. Madoka couldn't help but giggle at how giddy Sayaka was over her transformation, however mention of the creature brought up an important question.

"…But, what was that monster, and more importantly, what is that form Sayaka-chan?" The pinkette inquired, bringing Sayaka out of her gushing daze.

"Hmm, I dunno." Sayaka replied casually.

"Eh, Sayaka-chan, aren't you being a little too lax about this, I mean, you transformed into a fruit hero, you just fought a really dangerous monster, shouldn't _you_ be the one asking questions, like who even gave you that thing, and why?" Madoka seemed rather distressed, after all her best friend could've gotten killed, and she seemed totally unfazed.

"Mmm, well, I guess it would probably be smart to be wondering about those things, but…" Sayaka paused before closing the lock, cancelling the transformation, and removed the lock from the belt, gripping it in her hand and looking at it with a determined smile. "All I can think right now, is that I was able to protect you with this power." She said, surprising Madoka. "It's true I don't know who gave me this and what their intentions are, but you know what, I don't really care, I was able to protect you, that's reason enough to fully except this gift." She asserted with a bright smile, which Madoka couldn't help but return.

"Sayaka-chan…" She said warmly. As the two shared their friendly moment, they failed to notice someone watching from around the corner, the same girl from the roof, face just barely hidden by the shadows of the dimly lit room. She seemed satisfied with what she saw and turned to make her leave, revealing that she was carrying what seemed to be the carcass of a dead white furred animal in her left hand.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, there's the first chapter, I don't know what I suddenly got the urge to write this, I guess I was just getting back into Kamen Rider and I remembered that Gaim and Madoka Magica were both written by Gen Urobuchi and I haven't really seen any full scale crossover between the two on this site so I thought I'd try my hand at it. If I get far enough, the PMMM characters will definitely interact with the Gaim characters, but for now all I'm really doing is dropping Sengoku Drivers in the hands of the Puella Magi and seeing what happens, so yeah. Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, the next one will probably be out soon, we'll see, so see you guys next time and don't forget to R &R please.**


	2. The Mysterious Transfer Student!

**A/N: Alright, here's the next chapter, not much else to say except I hope you enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider Gaim or Puella Magi Madoka Magica**

* * *

 **The Mysterious Transfer Student!**

Sayaka's eyes slowly and reluctantly opened at the sound of an annoying alarm clock ringing on her nightstand. Without even looking she reached over and with some admitted difficulty switched off the alarm before groggily sitting up and stretching.

"Jeez, why the heck did I set my alarm on a weekend, and just when I have having such a cool dream." She complained to herself as her eyes wondered absentmindedly around the room, eventually they landed on her vanity area and she saw the fruit lock and the belt buckle casually placed there, her eyes widening in realization.

"Whoa, seriously!" She said as she practically leaped out of bed and rushed over to the two devices, picking them up and inspecting them as if to make sure they were real. "It… It wasn't a dream!" She exclaimed with glee before remembering exactly why she set her alarm.

"Oh right, gotta go meet Madoka!" She said before she began to get ready, she put on a simple casual outfit, a yellow cardigan over a white blouse and a plain black skirt, and bid farewell to her family before making her way over to the town square. She waited by the clock for about fifteen minutes before Madoka showed up; she to was in casual attire, a frilly white top with an equally frilly blue skirt.

"Good morning Sayaka-chan, did I keep you waiting?" Madoka asked.

"You're fine, you're fine, I just got here." Sayaka waved the question off; in all honesty she was just too giddy to really care about much at the moment. "Want to stop by a café or something before we get going, it's my treat." She offered.

* * *

After playing around a bit at a café and then the arcade, it was finally time to get down to business. The girls found themselves in a much less… frequently visited part of town, settling down under a lonely bridge, empty barrels that once held lord knows what scattered about.

"Alright this should be fine, nobody should disturb us here." Sayaka said before taking her place at the center of their makeshift training grounds. "

"Sayaka-chan, are you sure this is a good idea?" Madoka said, very apprehensive.

"Don't worry Madoka, I'll try not to go overboard, this is just to see what exactly this new power of mine can do." Sayaka assured her before pulling out her belt and lock seemingly out of nowhere. "Ok, Cutting Buckle," She said before strapping the belt on. "Fruit Lock." She continued as she opened the lock.

" _Raspberry!_ " It exclaimed, summoning the raspberry armor just like before.

"And then, Lock On!" She said as she placed the lock into the belt and closed it onto the hatch.

" _Lock On!_ " The belt exclaimed before the standby music began playing, Sayaka taking a moment to enjoy to tune.

"Henshin!" She declared as she brought the knife down on the lock, slicing it open.

" _Hai! Raspberry Arms: Ji, an, HA-HA-HA!_ " The belt said as the raspberry fell onto her head, forming the suit and then folding out to create the armor, the Raspberry Jian forming in her hands.

"Heh heh, alright, first off…" She said as she brandished her weapons and walked over to one of the barrels. With a little battle cry she slashed at the barrel, barely feeling any resistance as the sword cleaved through the top of the rustic metal container. She followed up with three more slashes until all that was left was five rings with nearly perfect cuts lying on the floor around her.

"Woo, these things can really cut can't they?" Sayaka stated as she examined the pieces of the barrel. She stuck one of her swords in the ground freeing her hand to pick one up, and was surprised by how little effort it required. "Whoa, this thing feels light as a feather, I see, I see, so this armor gives me super strength to." She cooed as she tossed the piece to the side. "Now then, let's try a finisher." She said as she grabbed a fresh barrel and tossed it into the air before slicing down on the lock.

" _Hai! Raspberry Squash!_ " The belt exclaimed as Sayaka retrieved her other sword and they began charging with energy just as they did the day before. Sayaka prepared herself and once the barrel came back down she slashed at it, leaving behind glowing cut marks on it before it exploded in a bright flash of pinkish red, this time nothing was left of the target.

"Wow, it was completely vaporized!" Sayaka said in amazement, failing to notice Madoka slightly cowering in fear.

"Sayaka-chan, isn't this a bit dangerous?" She said, gaining her attention.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Sayaka asked, completely oblivious.

"That was a pretty big explosion, what if you accidently blow up the bridge or something, that would be a really big problem." She explained to her friend with great concern. Sayaka thought about it for a moment and then finally noticed that the explosion actually singed the underside of the bridge, confirming Madoka's concerns.

"Oh, sorry, sorry, I guess I did get a little carried away there." Sayaka awkwardly conceded. "Hmm… Oh, I know!" She said after a moment of thought, cancelling the transformation and removing the lock from the belt and the belt from her waist. "Madoka, why don't you try it out?" She suggested.

"Eh…EHHHHHH, M-ME?!" Madoka exclaimed.

"Yeah, you're a lot more careful then I am, you can probably keep any collateral damage to a minimum better then I can." She explained as she walked over to the pinkette and held the two devices out to her.

"N-no way, I-I could never… Henshin and… fight like that." Madoka tried to rebuke.

"It's fine, it's fine, it's just to safely test it out." Sayaka effortlessly replied. "Come on, I know you want to, go on try it." She said as she practically shoved the belt and lock into her hands.

"B-but…" Madoka whimpered as she stared at the two items. She had to admit, she did kind of want to try it, she wasn't as gung ho about it as Sayaka, but she to had admiration for Henshin heroes and Magical Girls and the like, but to actually become one, can she really do it. She took a moment to steal herself before taking the belt in her left hand and placed it on her waist. A moment passed as she waited for the belt to form, but it never did. "Huh?"

"Hey, what's going on, don't tell me we broke it already!" Sayaka exclaimed frantically as she took the belt back and began inspecting it for any irregularities. She saw nothing and tried placing it on her waist, the belt materializing as usual.

"Huh, but why…" Madoka said quizzically. Sayaka took off the belt and then placed it on Madoka's waist, once again nothing happened, she then placed it back on her own waist and the belt appeared no problem. "I guess it only works for Sayaka-chan." Madoka deduced, her voice a strange mixture of relief and disappointment.

"I guess so." Sayaka concurred before smirk appeared on her face. "Madoka… it seems I have been given a great burden." She said dramatically as she clenched her fist.

"You don't look very burdened by it thought." Madoka deadpanned, a beat of sweat trailing down her face.

"But it's true though, if this is one of those "only one person can use it" sort of things then I've been given a great responsibility!" Sayaka began. "I've been thinking about it; this belt was obviously meant to kill those weird monster things like the one from yesterday, so maybe that's why they gave it to me, to fight them off and protect the peace of Mitakihara, maybe even the world!" She ranted on, getting more and more excited by the second.

"Ehh, d-do you really think something that scary is going to happen?" Madoka asked, quivering a bit.

"No idea," Sayaka replied, much to Madoka's exasperation. "But, that doesn't change the fact that if those monsters attack again, I'm the only one who can stop them." She stated with a much more serious tone. "…Honestly, I'm not really sure I can do it, maybe it would've been better if someone else had this belt… but, I have it, so I have to do the best I can, right?"

"Sayaka-chan…" Madoka said. For all of her apprehensiveness, she believed that Sayaka could do it, there wasn't anyone she knew with a stronger sense of justice, the perfect person to protect the peace of Mitakihara City, all she needed was a little practice. "…Yeah, you're right, in that case, I'll be sure to do all I can to support you!" Madoka declared, gaining appreciative smile from Sayaka.

"Thanks, Madoka. Now, let's get back to it then!" Sayaka stated as she took the lock back into her right hand. "Henshin!" She cried as she opened the lock.

" _Raspberry!_ " It exclaimed as it summoned the Armor Part. Sayaka then paused and put on a thoughtful look.

"Hey Madoka, do you think I should say "Henshin" before I open the lock, or just before I slice it open?" She asked.

"You're still thinking about that kind of stuff?" Madoka deadpanned.

* * *

"…Hey, hey, hold on a second, HOW COME NOTHING HAS HAPPENED YET!" Sayaka cried in frustration as she walked to school. "It's been a week since that first monster attack, shouldn't another one have happened by now, isn't that the rule!?" She ranted to herself, bystanders sparing her an awkward glance before going about her business. "Geez, I've looked all over and not so much as a mysterious sighting has happened…" She let out an exasperated sigh. "Man, I really thought this was going to be awesome." She mumbled to herself as she continued her trek to school.

"Good morning, Sayaka-san." Sayaka heard. She turned around to see her green haired friend Hitomi walking up to her.

"Oh, morning Hitomi." She replied as naturally as she could to mask her concerns.

"You're out rather early today, what's the occasion?" Hitomi commented.

"Oh, well, i-it's such a nice day out that I thought I'd enjoy it a little bit, you know." Sayaka fibbed; in truth it was a combination of restlessness from the uneventful week and a precaution in case something did happen, so that she wouldn't be late for school.

"I see, I guess we were thinking the same thing then." Hitomi said, giggling a bit at the "coincidence".

"Ha ha, yeah, guess so." Sayaka laughed awkwardly. She and Madoka had decided not to tell Hitomi about the Cutting Buckle or the monster attack, they figured the less people that knew the better. "…So, have you decided on how you're going to respond to that guy yet, it's been a whole week already." Sayaka quickly changed the subject.

"Mmm, I'm really not sure, I don't think I can accept his feelings, but I don't want to hurt him after all of the effort he put in." She replied with a worried sigh.

"Well, whatever you do, do it fast, it's kind of rude to keep the guy waiting for so long." Sayaka said, half teasingly.

"I know." Hitomi replied dejectedly. They were finally by the stream that ran all the way up to their school when they heard the familiar trot of light footsteps accompanied by subtle pants of exhaustion. They both turned with amused smiles as Madoka approached the, a tired but bright smile on her face.

"Good morning!" She greeted cheerfully.

"Good morning." Hitomi replied.

"Madoka, you're late." Sayaka playfully scolded, her hands on her hips like a strict parent. "Oh, cute ribbons." She commented, finally noticing that she was indeed wearing new, pretty red ribbons as apposed to her default yellow ones.

"Y-you think? They're not to flashy?" Madoka replied sheepishly clearly self-conscious about the sudden but subtle change in appearance.

"They're lovely." Hitomi encouraged as the group continued walking to school, talking and laughing along the way.

' _Oh well, I guess I should be thankful that this peace doesn't really need protecting, huh?_ ' She conceded.

* * *

"*Ehem* I have something of upmost importance to discuss with you all today, so pay very close attention." Their homeroom teacher, Saotome Kazuko, said in serious tone before stomping forward, as if to emphasize what she was about to say next. "Should sunny-side up eggs be made hard or soft? What do you think, Nakazawa-kun?" She asked the incredulous question and then suddenly called on a random student in the front row.

"I…Uh… I-I guess either way is fine?" He replied, more like he was asking a question then giving an answer.

"That's right, either way is fine!" She confirmed. "And if you think a woman's value is determined by how she cooks her eggs, then you are horribly mistaken!" She punctuated her rant by bending her pointer at a ninety-degree angle. "Girls, I want you all to make sure not associate yourselves with picky men who demand soft eggs!"

"Guess it didn't work out." Sayaka whispered to Madoka, who sat practically right behind her.

"You can say that again." Madoka replied, making Sayaka giggle in amusement.

"And boys, make sure you don't grow up to be a nitpicker who demands eggs to be cooked one way, and one way only!" Saotome continued her rant before composing herself by softly clearing her throat. "Now then, I'd like to introduce a transfer student who will be joining us." She continued pleasantly.

"You should've mentioned that first!" Sayaka silently exclaimed as the rest of their classmates began whispering in anticipation. There had been roomers of a transfer student for some time now, and with those roomers confirmed everyone was anxious to see what kind of person would be joining their class.

"Akemi-san, please come in." Saotome called to the door. As soon as this "Akemi-san" walked in the door the class was immediately in a subtle uproar, people either gasped in amazement or let slip comments such as "She's so cute" or "she's so cool-looking". And these comments were well deserved, Akemi-san was in fact quite the eye candy, she was on the tall side with long silky black hair that complemented her white skin perfectly, her pretty face devoid of any discernable emotions, coupled with her confident stride, made her give off a mysterious and cool aura.

"Wow, she's a total beauty." Sayaka stated with equal amazement, too preoccupied with examining their new classmate to hear Madoka gasp in surprise and mumble something to herself.

"Alright, why don't you tell the class your name?" Saotome said, cueing the girl to introduce herself.

"I'm Akemi Homura, it's a pleasure to meet you." Homura replied in a cold and emotionless tone, completely uninterested.

As she introduced herself, Saotome proceeded to write her name on the board, however she paused once she got halfway through her given name, not quite recalling how to write the characters. Homura seemed to picked up on this, no, it was more like she was anticipating it, and she took another stylus pen on the board and finished writing her name, followed by silently bowing to her classmates, ending her introduction. Everyone awkwardly applauded, taken aback by her strange behavior, or lack there of rather, and just as the applause died down, Homura turned her gaze into the crowd. Sayaka took note of this sudden shift in her attention, especially since she was practically glaring right at her best friend, Madoka awkwardly tried to make herself scarce but just couldn't ignore the cold gaze of the transfer student.

"Um, Akemi-san?" Saotome said in perplexed voice, trying to get her to take her seat.

* * *

Once break time came around, the girls of the class all crowded around the transfer student, bombarding her with questions, like where did she go to school before and if she was in any clubs, Akemi Homura quickly and efficiently answering them all without giving any particular interest to any single inquiry. Meanwhile Sayaka and her group of friends all hung back, observing the interactions of their classmates with the strange new girl.

"She has a bit of a mysterious aura about her, don't you think?" Hitomi commented.

"Hey Madoka, do you know her?" Sayaka inquired suspiciously. "Wasn't she staring at you earlier?"

"Well, uh…" Madoka struggled for a reply; she really didn't know how to answer, increasing Sayaka's curiosity.

' _Hmm, really weird, what could she want with Madoka… more importantly, I'm the one with the super powers here, shouldn't I be the one having encounters with mysterious figures?_ ' She couldn't help but wonder in her typical "chunni" way, however her sensible side poked through and she determined that it would be ridiculous to think that the two events were related.

"I'm sorry, I guess I'm still under a bit of stress, I'm not really feeling well." Homura said, moving her hand to her head as if to stifle a headache. "Would you mind if I went to the nurse's office?"

"Oh, let me show you the way." One of the girls offered.

"I'll come to." Another girl added.

"No, don't worry about me." Homura politely refused, standing up from her seat. "I'll ask the person in charge." And with that she moved away from the crowd of girls and made her way to the trio of friends, her gaze fixed on Madoka the whole time. "Kaname Madoka-san, you're the health officer for this class, right?"

"Uh, I um…" Madoka stammered, nervous under her piercing gaze.

"Could you take me to the nurse's office." She asked, though the aura about her made it seemed more like an order.

"Uh, r-right, of course." Madoka found her voice and stood from her seat to guide her. "Um, excuse us." She said to her friends with a polite bow.

Sayaka stayed silent, just observing this strange new transfer student, however, as she left, she suddenly shifted her gaze to the blunette, their eyes meeting for a moment before Sayaka awkwardly tried to save face by adjusting her gaze to the back wall and awkwardly whistled some vague tune. Homura's gaze lingered on Sayaka a bit longer than she expected before she eventually turned to follow Madoka out of the room, but by the time they got to the door Homura was the one leading.

"Ok, that was definitely suspicious." Sayaka said once they were out of earshot. "I mean, how did she know Madoka was the health officer?"

"Is it really that strange, Saotome-sensei did mention she was hospitalized for some time before coming here." Hitomi reasoned. "Perhaps sensei told her who the health officer was just in case she needed to go to the nurse's office, that would also explain why she was staring at Madoka-san before."

"Mmm, I guess that makes sense." Sayaka begrudgingly conceded. ' _But… those eyes definitely weren't eyes of someone who wasn't feeling well._ ' She thought to herself as she remembered the transfer student's glare, her suspicion not at all quelled.

As such, Sayaka made sure to pay close attention to the transfer student, which wasn't too hard considering how much she stood out. Throughout the entire day she was making the biggest impression on the class, whether it was solving problems quickly and efficiently in class, or breaking pretty much every prefecture record during gym class, all the while stealing glances at Madoka… it was really starting to piss Sayaka off.

* * *

"…Wait, she said what?" Sayaka said incredulously. After class the girls decided to go grab a bite to eat on the way home, and it was at this time that Madoka decided to tell them about the conversation she had with Homura on their way to the nurse's office.

"Doesn't make any sense, does it?" Madoka said, clearly troubled.

"I knew something was sketchy about that girl, nobody is _that_ perfect in everything they do!" Sayaka declared, letting her own personal grudge seep into her statement. "And who the hell talks about loosing family and friends to someone they just met, sounds like a total nutcase!"

' _Either that, or she knows something we don't._ ' Sayaka considered in her head.

"Madoka-san, are you sure you've never met her before?" Hitomi inquired.

"Well, the sensible answer would have to be yes…" Madoka replied.

"What do you mean "sensible", does that mean you've met her in a "non-sensible" way?" Sayaka interrupted, feeling their friend wasn't telling them everything.

"Well, I think we met in a dream I had last night, or something…" Madoka awkwardly admitted. Her two friends took a sip of their drinks before Hitomi burst out laughing at her friend's ridiculous claim; Sayaka on the other hand, just seemed to have her interest piqued, after all considering that she had a Henshin Belt tucked away on her person somewhere she wasn't really in a position to shoot down ridiculous claims.

"What are you saying, Madoka-san?" Hitomi said in between her giggles.

"I'm serious, I'm really concerned about this!" Madoka defended herself, a bright blush appearing on her face.

"What kind of dream was it?" Sayaka inquired seriously, Madoka surprised that she didn't join in on the teasing.

"Honestly, I don't really remember." Madoka admitted. "All I know is that it was a really weird dream."

"Maybe you _have_ met her somewhere before then." Hitomi suggested, much to Madoka's confusion.

"Even though you might not remember her, your subconscious could have taken note of her, and later brought her image out in a dream." She explained.

"Isn't that a bit too far-fetched, I mean, it's just a coincidence, right?" Sayaka said; though it was far from her actual opinion, but she needed to get Hitomi off of the topic in order to really discuss it with Madoka.

"I suppose so." Hitomi replied before checking the time on her phone. "Oh, look at the time, I'm sorry, I have to go." She apologized before gathering her stuff to leave.

"Piano lessons, or do you have Japanese dance today?" Sayaka inquired.

"Today's tea ceremony practice." Hitomi revealed. "Entrance exams are right around the corner, but my mom still wants me to keep this up."

"Wow, I'm glad I wasn't born rich." Sayaka sighed in teasing relief, though not at all envious of her friend's busy schedule.

"Should we get going to?" Madoka suggested as she stood from her seat as well.

"Oh Madoka, mind if we stop by the music store on the way home?" Sayaka nearly whispered to Madoka.

"Sure, for Kamijou-kun again, right?" Madoka replied with a knowing smile.

"Heh heh, well yeah…" Sayaka admitted, a light blush crossing her cheeks at hearing the boy's name, even with everything that's been on her mind lately, she never missed a beat when it came to her childhood friend and crush, Kamijou Kyousuke.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere else within the complex, a rather strange scene was unfolding. Through the darkened bowels of the mall ran what seemed to be a small white furred creature, panting heavily as it desperately tried to escape its pursuer. It narrowly dodged what seemed to be a glowing pullet only for another to come whizzing by, then another, then another, the projectile eventually hitting its mark twice, knocking the animal forward as it grunted in pain. A reload noise could be heard in the distance, giving the creature a chance to get back on its feet and keep moving, just barely dodging another blast.

In the hallway behind it, the assailant leaped down from its perch, the sound of metal armor pieces clanging together every time it moved. It seemed to stare intently at the fleeing creature before running after it, reloading its weapon to keep it at the ready.

* * *

As promised, Madoka and Sayaka had stopped by the music store, it was very brightly lit, the walls and pillars of the room lined with demo areas for people to briefly listen to a selected album before purchasing it. The two girls were taking their time looking at their own perspective songs, Sayaka sticking to the classical section while Madoka wondered into the J-pop section.

Madoka choose a song on the touch screen and placed the wireless headphones over her ears, the song starting form some arbitrary point a few moments later. The pinkette happily bobbed her head to the music without a care in the world, however…

' _…Save me…_ ' She heard from what seemed to be the back of her mind, completely drowning out the sound of the music.

"Huh?" Madoka gasped quizzically, taking the headphones off and listening. A moment passed without anything happening, she was about to write it off as her hearing things when she heard it again.

' _Save me… Madoka!_ '

"Eh, EH!" Madoka said with concern as she searched for the source of the voice.

' _Please… save me…_ ' It pleaded with her and without saying a word Madoka wondered off, trying to track down whoever was talking to her. However, she didn't go unnoticed as Sayaka removed her headphones and looked curiously at her as she left store.

* * *

She didn't know how, but Madoka somehow wondered into bowels of the shopping center, a sign clearly marking it as a restricted area.

"Hello, who's there?" Madoka called out as she searched around just before the restricted area.

' _Save me…_ ' The voice repeated, definitely guiding her beyond the warning sign. Madoka was hesitant, but she couldn't just ignore the pleading voice and pushed forward, wondering deeper into the storage area of the mall. It was darkly lit, seemingly much more then last time she was here a week ago, but she nonetheless took a look around.

"Where are you?" She asked as she practically tip toed around. "Who are you?" She finally bothered to ask as she wondered deeper and deeper into the dimly lit hallway.

' _Save me…_ ' The voice called once again, though this time it seemed much closer then before, right above her in fact. She looked up and saw one of the tiles on the ceiling began to move out of its place, she took a few steps back to avoid the inevitable fall and once it can the girl feel off her feet in shock with it as the loud sound of the tile hitting the ground echoed through the hallway.

However, what really caught her attention was the small animal that fell from the resultant hole in the ceiling. It was breathing shallowly, just barely alive it seemed, its fur matted and parts completely ripped off, revealing the dark red skin underneath. Madoka gasped in horror as she kneeled down before the creature and took it in her arms.

"Was that you?" She asked as she cradled the injured creature.

"…Save me…" It repeated as it glanced up at her, briefly revealing its pinkish red eyes.

Before Madoka could ask anything further, she heard the faint rattling of chains followed by the sound of someone bursting from the ceiling and landing in front of her. She gasped in surprise before looking up at the new arrival, her eyes widening in surprise. The first thing she saw was the figure's belt, it was exactly the same as the one Sayaka had, only the face plate was different, showing a the profile of a purple helmet with a black forehead crest facing a black "cloud" design. Another difference was that the opened lock was different, though she couldn't tell just from looking what fruit it was. The figure was wearing a purple body suit with black accents and the armor pieces it wore were a dark forest green and made from a series of ovular plates. The helmet, just like depicted on the face plate had a black forehead crest that looked similar to that of a samurai helmet, which its dark green secondary helmet also resembled. In its left hand the figure was carrying a nearly hexagonal buckler shield with grooves that lead from each point to a silver center piece, and in its right hand it held a black katana like sword that seemed to have a pistol embedded into the guard, the Musou Saber.

"That's… just like Sayaka-chan." Madoka muttered in shock as the figure eyed her from behind its dark green visors.

"Step away from that thing." The figure said, in a surprisingly feminine voice.

"B-but, he's hurt." Madoka protested as the creature continued its shallow breathing. "N-no, please don't hurt him!" She pleaded as she turned her body to further protect the creature.

"This has nothing to do with you." The figure stated as it pointed her blade at her. Madoka flinched at the sight of the weapon, but what really caught her attention was the barely familiar voice that belonged to the figure.

"Eh, that voice, it can't be… Homura-chan?" Madoka asked, but received no reply from the figure, but the sound of its armor pieces clanking together suggested that she reacted.

"…I'll ask you again, please step away from that thing." Homura politely ordered.

"B-but he was calling me!" Madoka declared. "He was begging for me to save him!"

"…I see." She said, adjusting her grip on her weapon. For what felt like an eternity the two just stared at each other, Madoka uneasy about not being able to see Homura's face as she continued to hold the blade toward her. Homura's grip tightened on the sword once again before she took a step forward, much to Madoka's terror.

"Madoka!" Sayaka exclaimed as she dashed down the hallway toward the two.

"Sayaka-chan!" Madoka exclaimed in absolute relief as she stood defensively in front of her, Homura lowering her weapon as well.

"Ah, that form…" Sayaka gasped in shock at seeing another with the same power as her.

"Sayaka-chan, I think that might be Homura-chan." Madoka stated as she stood up from the floor.

"Eh, the transfer student!?" Sayaka exclaimed incredulously as she turned to see look at Madoka over her shoulder. The pinkette nodded her head in confirmation. "I see, I knew something wasn't right about her." Sayaka said as she turned her attention back to the armored figure. "Hey, transfer student, just what hell do you think you were doing to Madoka!?"

"Rest assured, Miki Sayaka, I had no intention of harming her, all I'm after… is the creature in her arms." Homura claimed as she pointed her weapon directly at the animal.

"Creature, eh, what is that, is it alive?" Sayaka said at the sight of the strange and injured creature.

"I don't know." Madoka admitted as she looked down at the dying, helpless creature in her arms. "I don't know but… I have to save him!" She declared in no uncertain terms, impressing Sayaka and troubling Homura.

"Hmph, well, that's that then." Sayaka said with a smirk as she pulled out the Cutting Buckle and placed it on her waist.

"…I don't wish to fight you." Homura insisted almost pleadingly.

"Well sorry, but as the guardian of Mitakihara City, I can't just let you bully around a helpless animal." Sayaka replied as she pulled out the Raspberry Fruit Lock.

"Sayaka-chan." Madoka said with admiration.

"Henshin!" Sayaka said as she opened the Fruit Lock.

" _Raspberry!_ " The lock exclaimed as it summoned the Raspberry Armor Part. Sayaka then placed the lock into the belt and closed it.

" _Lock On!_ " It exclaimed as the standby music began playing.

"…You idiot girl." Homura whispered to herself in frustration before Sayaka sliced open the lock.

" _Hai! Raspberry Arms: Ji, an, HA-HA-HA!_ " The belt exclaimed as the armor part fell on Sayaka's head, forming the suit, and then folded out to form the armor. The Raspberry Jian appeared in her hands and Sayaka brandished them boisterously before getting in a fighting stance.

"Alright, bring it on, if you want that white ferret thing, you'll have get through me!" Sayaka declared. Homura nearly scowled under her helmet as she gripped her weapons tightly.

"…So be it." Homura replied as she brandished her own weapon. The two then dashed towards each other ready to engage in combat, but just before they crossed blades the space around them began to distort and the air pressure seemed to shift. The two armored warriors stopped and looked around as the hallway that they were just in changed into something completely different and alien to them, the corridor and all that was in it replaced with some strange papier-mâché like scenery. ( **A/N: Yeah, I'm not even gonna try to go into anymore detail, Witch Labyrinths** **are just way too crazy, to properly describe.** )

"Hey wait, what the hell is this?!" Sayaka asked frantically as she looked around for anything recognizable, but all that was left was a labyrinth of strange and distorted space.

"What's going on?" Madoka said as she quivered in fear.

"Of all times…" Homura cursed under her breath. Just then they all heard childlike chanting in a language none of them understood and out from the very scenery itself came a battalion of strange dandelion like monsters, the Anthonys, with butterfly shaped legs and a mustache being the only semblance of a face they had. As they came into view strange letters seemed to appear all around them randomly, once again nobody understood what they said.

"Ehh, dandelion monsters, what the hell is going on here, transfer student!?" Sayaka demanded but before could give a reply one of the Anthonys leaped out and went straight for Madoka.

Quickly, Homura pulled the Pallete Slide on the Musou Saber, loading it, and shot two shots just passed Sayaka and Madoka, killing the advancing monster and another behind it. She then quickly turned around shot two more that advanced on her, the lights on the blade disappearing every time she fired a shot. Once it was empty, she switched to slashing at the coming at her, blocking attacks with her shield before quickly striking back with sword, reloading it and firing at them whenever possible. Sayaka was forced to fight as well, slashing at the Anthonys with her Raspberry Jian in order to protect Madoka. She ducked under a strike from one of them before kicking it and another beside it away and then did a cross slash at one that was coming straight for her, killing it.

"Miki Sayaka, leave this to me, you take Kaname Madoka and get out of here!" Homura instructed as shot a few more Anthonys.

"Huh, why do I have to listen to…?" Sayaka protested.

"There's no time to explain, Madoka's in danger if she stays here, you have to get her out, now!" Homura insisted, not taking no for an answer. Sayaka was apprehensive, but as she saw Madoka quivering in fear as she kicked away a few Anthonys that went for her, she realized Homura was right.

"Ah, fine, but I better get some answers after this!" Sayaka begrudgingly complied before hacking killing a few Anthonys to give them a safe passage. "Come on, Madoka, this way!" She said as she led the way through the Labyrinth, Madoka following close behind.

"…I'm counting on you, Miki Sayaka." Homura whispered as she turned her attention back to the battle.

The two girls ran for what felt like ages, Sayaka killing whatever monster barred their way and running from any that didn't. Eventually, they made it back to a circular chamber that they had certainly passed about three times already.

"Oh come on, where's the exit to this place!?" Sayaka exclaimed in frustration.

"Sayaka-chan, look!" Madoka warned as she pointed to a hoard of Anthonys approaching them from both sides.

"Crap, we're trapped." Sayaka lamented as she got into a fighting stance. The hoard advanced and Sayaka did her best to keep them at bay, it wasn't too difficult to kill any single Anthony, but their sheer number made them difficult to handle. A few of them actually managed to land a few strikes on Sayaka, but nothing the raspberry heroin couldn't shake off. Madoka could only watch in horror as Sayaka fought these creatures, and just when it seemed Sayaka was gaining the upper hand, Madoka noticed some disembodied scissors snapping above them before advancing on Sayaka.

"Sayaka-chan, look out!" Madoka warned a tad bit too late as the scissors snipped, snapped, and slashed at the unsuspecting Sayaka, sparks flying from her suit with each strike. The sudden onslaught made Sayaka fall to the floor and drop her Raspberry Jian, she quickly reached for them, but a group of Anthonys stood on top of them, preventing her from retrieving them.

"Damn, this isn't good." Sayaka said under her breath as she stood protectively between Madoka and the hoard of monsters and scissors that approached them.

"S-Sayaka-chan…" Madoka whimpered on the brink of tears, making Sayaka clench her fists in anger. With that, the Anthony's lunged forward, ready to finish the job, all Sayaka could do was embrace Madoka in protection and steal herself for the pain. However, at the very last moment, they heard a blast followed by a flash of yellow energy that engulfed the room, the Anthonys all disappearing and leaving Sayaka and Madoka unscathed. The bleak images on the floor of the room were now replaced with a yellow, flowery palette that quickly worked to sooth the two girls.

"Huh, what was that?" Sayaka questioned, though still incredibly relieved.

"What?" Madoka said with a similar curious relief.

"That was pretty close, but everything's ok now." They heard a voice call to them from behind. They turned around and saw another girl approach them from across the room. She had a mature aura about her and a figure to match, if it weren't for the fact that she wore their school uniform one could mistake her for a high school student. She had blond hair done up in twin curls that winded down either side of her neck, that almost seemed to bloom from her flower shaped hair accessories. She wore a comforting smile as she walked over to the duo, but what was most interesting about her was the strange yellow gem she held in her hand, glowing with images of flowers flickering around it.

"Oh, you saved Kyubey?" The girl said, referring to the white creature. "Thank you, he's a dear friend of mine." She thanked, sincere gratitude evident in her voice.

"He was calling out to me." Madoka began. "I heard his voice in my head."

"Hm, I see." Mami replied knowingly.

"Um, not that I don't appreciate the save back there but…" Sayaka chimed in. "Who are you?"

"Oh, how rude of me, I haven't introduced myself yet." Mami replied, however at that very moment they became surrounded by yards and yards of barbed wire, accompanied by the disembodied scissors from before. "But before that…" She added as she eyed the approaching enemies. She turned on her heal into a twirl and threw the gem she was carrying into the air, shuffling her feet playfully before catching it in her hands. "Allow me to take care of a little something first." She said as the glow from the gem intensified, ribbons of yellow light engulfing the girl's body. One by one, her clothes began to change in an extravagant transformation sequence until she was standing in a flashy yellow, white, and brown costume, posing elegantly as a horde of Anthonys swarmed.

"Eh, that's… Magical Girl?" Sayaka said with shock, she half expected her to pull out another belt and Henshin, but she was a magical girl instead.

The Magical Girl then got to work leaping up into the air and staying there. With a flick of her wrist and a small, determined yelp, an armada of white muskets appeared seemingly out of nowhere and aimed themselves at the Anthonys before all firing at once, bullets of orangish yellow energy raining down upon the monsters, destroying them all in a brilliant flash of light. The legs of the Anthonys all fluttered away as the Magical Girl landed gracefully back to the ground.

"Whoa…" Sayaka said, absolutely blown away by the display.

"A-amazing…" Madoka concurred. Suddenly, the world around them began to distort again and the disturbing scenery disappeared and in its place was the storage area of the mall.

"W-we're back!" Sayaka stated as she and Madoka let out relieved sighs. Before anything else could be said Homura landed on a large tarp covered crate, looking down at them as if purely for intimidation.

"I wondered when I would run into you, "Armored Warrior-san"." The Magical Girl said to her in an almost condescending tone. "The Witch is getting away, if you want to hunt it down you'll need to move quickly, I'll let you have this one."

"I'm here on business." Homura replied, her gaze turning towards Madoka and Kyubey, causing Sayaka to stand between them protectively.

"You don't seem to understand me," The Magical Girl said, a slight edge in her voice. "I'm saying I'll let you go." Homura remained silent, but the slight shift in her stance betrayed her concern.

"I'm not sure what exactly it is you want, but I think it would be better for both of us to avoid any unnecessary trouble, wouldn't you agree." The Magical Girl said. Sayaka and Madoka practically held their breath waiting for Homura's response, after a few moments of silent staring Homura turned on her heel and leaped off her perch, the girls listening to her foot steps until they could no longer be heard. Once they were sure she was gone Madoka and Sayaka let out a sigh of relief before Sayaka closed and removed the lock from her belt, canceling the transformation.

* * *

Without a moment to spare, the creature called Kyubey was laid out on a tarp the procured from their surroundings and the Magical Girl went to work, holding her hands up to him as they glowed with a yellow healing light. Moments later all of Kyubey's injuries completely disappeared and his eyes popped open as he sprang back to life.

"Thank you, Mami, you saved me." Kyubey thanked, Sayaka and Madoka surprised to hear him talk coherently for the first time. Madoka smiled at the creature's chipper declaration, happy that she managed to help it get better.

"You should be thinking these two." Mami said, referring to the two girls that sat beside her. "I was just passing by."

"Thank you very much." Kyubey said as he turned to the two girls. "My name is Kyubey!" He introduced himself.

"Um, were you the one who was calling for me?" Madoka inquired.

"That's right, Kaname Madoka, and Miki Sayaka." Kyubey replied.

"H-how do you know our names?" Sayaka said, she and Madoka surprised by the creature's familiarity with them.

"I have a request for you two." Kyubey began on a somewhat serious note.

"A-A request?" Madoka said.

"I want you two to make contracts with me and become Magical Girls!" Kyubey stated with what seemed to be a smile on his face.

* * *

 **A/N: And with that we have finally begun working with the cannon PMMM material, WOOT! So yeah, the majority of the chapters from now on will mostly be taking place during the episodes of the main PMMM series, as such most of the dialogue will be taken from there, of course with adjustments to account for the new plot points of the Armored Riders. Also, I'm mostly going to be taking the dialogue from the subbed version, so yeah, just so you guys know. By the way, bonus points to whoever can guess which fruit Homura's Lockseed is, leave your guesses in the reviews… of course only two people bothered to review last time, so brave kid and OrionGold, thanks for that and hope to hear from you both this time around as well. Well, see you guys next time and don't forget to R &R please.**


	3. An Armored Rider's Responsibility!

**A/N: Hey guys, MCN here bringing you my first update of 2017! Man, can you believe it you guys, it's a whole new year, 2017, that's like, the future! Anyway, I'm glad everyone is enjoying the story so far, even if people were annoyed with how closely the last chapter followed cannon, yeah that's kind of a bad habit of mine, what can I say, I can be lazy sometimes. Well, with that out of the way, let's get to the next chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Kamen Rider Gaim or Puella Magi Madoka Magica**

* * *

 **An Armored Rider's Responsibility!**

"Mami-san, this is delicious!" Madoka cooed after taking a bite of some homemade cake.

"It totally is!" Sayaka concurred as she took another bite herself. The Magical Girl that had come to rescue them, a third year student at their school Tomoe Mami, had invited the two girls back to her apartment, and despite claiming to not be prepared for guests, she had served them some wonderful tea and absolutely delicious cake that she had made herself.

"Thank you." Mami said humbly with a slight bow of her head. "Since you've been chosen by Kyubey, that means you two are now involved in this. I think we should get you up to speed with things, and I'd also like to ask a few questions myself." She revealed the reason for her invitation.

"You bet, alright, let's get this Henshin Hero-Magical Girl info exchange going!" Sayaka declared enthusiastically.

"Sayaka-chan, that's a little…" Madoka awkwardly responded, though Mami just seemed to giggle in amusement.

"Well in that case, I'll go first." The third year girl replied before reaching her hand out and showing off the yellow crystal she had with her before.

"Wow, that's pretty." Madoka said as she admired the small gem.

"This is a Soul Gem, when Kyubey forms a contract with a girl, a Soul Gem is made." She explained. "It is what identifies us as Magical Girls, and is the source of our power."

"Contract?" Sayaka said quizzically, recalling Kyubey mentioning that before and desired clarification.

"I can grant each of you one wish." Kyubey chimed in, having been sitting on the table the entire time.

"Eh, really?" Sayaka replied, as she and Madoka looked at the creature in shock and wonder.

"What kind of wish?" Madoka inquired.

"Anything you want, I can fulfill any miracle you wish for." Kyubey declared, which served to excite Sayaka even more.

"Whoa, so you could wish for priceless treasures, immortality, or even a feast fit for a Chinese emperor!" The blunette said, though of all of her suggestions she seemed to be most enthusiastic about the last.

"I'm not so sure about the last one…" Madoka said.

"But in exchange for that wish, a Soul Gem is created." Kyubey continued. "Those who receive one are given the responsibility of fighting Witches." This last part is what really caught the girls attention, as the mood suddenly became much more serious, even the sun outside was covered by clouds limiting the light in the room.

"Witches?" Madoka said curiously.

"What's a Witch, are they different from Magical Girls?" Sayaka inquired, they sounded rather similar to her.

"If Magical Girls are born from wishes, then Witches are born from curses." Kyubey answered cryptically. "Magical Girls spread hope, whereas Witches spread despair, and to make matters worse they can't be seen by normal humans." He elaborated. "Doubt and suspicion, irrational rage and hatred, they sow the seeds of catastrophe in this world."

"Many inexplicable suicides and murders that occur are caused by a witches curse." Mami added. "It's a formless evil that eats away at humans from the inside."

"If they're so dangerous, then how come no one knows about them?" Sayaka asked, finding it hard to believe that such a terrible evil could exist right under everyone's noses.

"Because Witches hide within barriers and never show themselves to people, the labyrinth-like area you wondered into before was one." Kyubey answered.

"They're pretty dangerous, actually." Mami added. "Those who are swallowed up by the barriers don't usually live to tell the tale."

"Mami-san, are you really fighting something that dangerous." Madoka asked with great concern.

"Yes, sometimes my life is in danger to." She confirmed, though with a serious hardness of a veteran who was completely used to it. "That's why I think you two should weigh your options carefully. Now that you've been chosen by Kyubey, you can have any wish granted. However, doing so could lead to your death." She warned in a deathly serious tone, a far cry from the start of her explanation. Madoka could only make a shocked and concerned noise at the warning, and Sayaka remained silent for the moment.

' _Any wish can be granted, but in exchange I'd have to put my life in danger…_ ' She pondered the tradeoff, suddenly her offhanded suggestions before seemed rather childish and naïve.

"Hmm… Well in that case I think I'll pass." Sayaka suddenly replied, much to everyone's shock.

"Eh, Sayaka-chan?" Madoka said.

"Well I mean, I kind of already have power of my own, and I can't really think of any wish that would be worth trading my life for, so…" Sayaka explained while awkwardly rubbing the back of her head, perhaps she was a being a bit hasty, but she really didn't see any reason to become a Magical Girl when she was already a Henshin Hero.

"…I see, well it is ultimately your decision, all I ask is that you think hard about it." Mami replied in a strange neutral tone, it wasn't exactly disappointment, but not exactly relief either. She lightly touched her Soul Gem and it glowed brightly until it changed form into a silver ring with a yellow gem that rested on her middle finger. "Well then Miki-san, I think it's my turn now to ask you a few questions." Mami said almost cheerfully with a smile on her face.

"Huh, oh yeah, sure, go ahead and ask away." Sayaka replied, sitting up straight and folding her arms, a prideful smirk on her face.

"Thank you." Mami replied with a chuckle. "I suppose the most obvious first question would be… this power of yours, what is it exactly?" Sayaka's smirk turned into a more honest smile at the question as she pulled out her Cutting Buckle.

"It's this." She said simply as she placed the device into the table for all to see.

"Oh my, this is… a Henshin Belt, right?" Mami said as she picked up the device and began examining it.

"Yep, I call it the Cutting Buckle." Sayaka said with pride.

"Ah, I see." Mami said as she began playing with the knife. "But, what exactly are you cutting?"

"That would be… this!" Sayaka said as she pulled out the Raspberry lock and showed it off dramatically. "Ta-da, the Raspberry Fruit Lock!"

"Oh, a little fruit lock, how cute." Mami said.

"Isn't it?" Madoka cooed in agreement.

"That may be true, but this thing is actually really amazing." Sayaka explained. "You put it into the belt, cut it open, and you can Henshin into this totally awesome Henshin Hero… Though, I guess it didn't look like much when you came to rescue us, did it?" She said with embarrassment as she remembered how weak she must have looked to the powerful and experienced Magical Girl.

"That's not true, I was actually rather impressed with how well you fought, especially considering it was your first time in an a Witches Barrier." Mami rebuked.

"Eh, y-you think?" Sayaka said bashfully at the praise.

"Of course, I just helped a little at the end, you're the one who protected Kaname-san and Kyubey." She insisted. The blunette and pinkette exchanged smiles, of pride and gratitude respectfully. "Speaking of which…" Mami followed up with another question, regaining the girls' attention. "That other armored warrior from before, is it safe to assume that she's the same as you?" Sayaka tensed up at the memory of Homura, she became much more serious as she recalled her encounter with her before and after meeting Mami.

"Yeah, she was using a Cutting Buckle to." Sayaka confirmed.

"Do you know her?" Mami inquired.

"Not really, she's a transfer student that just started today, name's Akemi Homura." Sayaka explained.

"She got a lot of attention from the class, but she didn't really talk to anyone for long." Madoka added. "Also… she said something really strange to me."

"Strange?" Mami said.

"Oh yeah, something like, um… don't change or you're family will die…?" Sayaka struggled to remember.

"No, no, it wasn't a threat or anything, it was more like a warning." Madoka defended.

"What exactly did she say?" Mami inquired.

"Mmm, something along the lines of, 'if I cherish my loved ones then I should stay the way I am, if I try to change I will lose everything' I think." Madoka nervously recalled.

"I see, so it's like that after all." Mami said with concern.

"Mami-san?" Madoka replied quizzically.

"The truth is, there have been rumors going around lately about an armored warrior exterminating Witches around this territory." Mami explained.

"Eh, exterminating Witches?" Sayaka gasped, it made sense, Homura definitely seemed familiar with the Witch's Barrier, but…

"Then wouldn't that make her an ally, one of the good guys?" Madoka replied.

"That was what we were hoping." Mami said.

"Her appearance was actually rather shocking," Kyubey admitted. "In the centuries that I have been recruiting Magical Girls never once has a third party entered the conflict, so we had no idea what to expect from her."

"Of course I would've liked to meet her and find out her intentions peacefully, but after today it is clear that she is not our ally." Mami stated, glancing over at Kyubey indicated the girl's attempt to kill him.

"But, why would Homura-chan attack Kyubey like that?" Madoka wondered out loud.

"If I were to guess, it was probably to prevent the creation of new Magical Girls." Kyubey answered.

"Huh, but why, she's fighting the Witches to right, so wouldn't it be better to have more people fighting the same enemy?" Sayaka inquired.

"That's not necessarily the case." Mami replied in a somewhat solemn tone. "It's actually more common for Magical Girls to compete with each other."

"Really, why?" Madoka asked.

"There are certain rewards for eliminating a Witch, so in some cases it turns into a contest, and we may even fight over them." Mami explained.

"So basically, she predicted that Kyubey would try to talk to Madoka, and that's why she's been pestering her since this morning?" Sayaka deduced, much to Madoka's shock and discomfort.

"That's most likely the case." Mami replied.

"That being said, these rewards should have no value to someone who isn't a Magical Girl, so why this "Akemi Homura" would be concerned about competition is rather perplexing." Kyubey said.

"So in the end, we don't know who she is or what her intentions are?" Sayaka said.

"I'm afraid so." Mami replied, leading the two-second years to sigh dejectedly. "Now don't worry, it's true her presence is troubling, but I'm sure it'll all clear up eventually, for now I want you both to focus on making a decision about being a Magical Girl." Mami insisted. "Ah, I know, to help you make up your minds, why don't you come along with me on a Witch hunt?" She invited, much to her kouhai's surprise. "That way you can see what it's like to fight a Witch."

"Eh, really?" Madoka said apprehensively.

"Ah, but I already…" Sayaka began.

"You don't have to change your mind Miki-san, in fact I was hoping you could try fighting as well." Mami said.

"Eh, me, fight a Witch?" Sayaka stammered in surprise.

"Of course, knowing how well a Magical Girl and a Henshin Hero fight together would very important, especially if we negotiate with Akemi-san." Mami explained.

"…Yeah, that's true." Sayaka replied, though her mind was deep in thought, mostly about the mysterious transfer student and her motives.

* * *

The next day, during lunch break, Sayaka and Homura were standing alone on the rooftop of the school, the cool spring wind blowing their hair dramatically as they practically glared at one another, as if trying to size each other up.

"So, what is it that you want from me, Miki Sayaka?" Homura finally said, the blunette had called her out as soon as the lunch break began and she wasn't taking no for an answer.

"I told you before didn't I, that I would be getting some answers from you." Sayaka replied with an edge in her voice that showed how serious she was.

"…I see, I suppose I do remember you saying something like that." Homura replied nonchalantly.

' _Don't act like it doesn't concern you damn it!_ ' Sayaka thought in frustration, she really hated this girl's attitude.

"Fine, I suppose I do owe you for trusting me back then." Homura conceded. "Ask me anything you like and I will answer to the best of my abilities." She stated.

"Whoa, seriously?" Sayaka said with surprise, she honestly didn't expect her to be so compliant. "Then…" Sayaka wondered what she would ask first, of course the first thing that came to mind was to ask about why she attacked Kyubey, but she figured she shouldn't push her luck right up front, so she decided to ask something else she had been wondering. "Your belt and lock, where did you get them?"

"The same way you got yours I assume." Homura replied almost immediately.

"Same as me?" Sayaka said quizzically. "You mean you just found yours in your locker one day?"

"Not my locker, but yes, I found it amongst my belongings one day, no note or explanation of any kind." She explained.

"So what, somebody is just handing these things out to random people or something?" Sayaka said incredulously.

"Probably, like I said I don't know any more then you do." Homura simply waved off the question.

"Oh you don't huh?" Sayaka didn't know what it was, but somehow the way this girl carried herself made it seem like she knew more then she was letting on. "Well then explain this, why are you fighting the Witches?" She asked her next question. "I didn't know anything about Witches before yesterday, yet from what I've heard you've been going around hunting them for the past week, how did you know about them even though nobody explained anything to you?" She asked as she pointed accusingly at her. Homura's face remained stone cold, but there was a hint of surprise in her eyes and a slight shift in her stance. She seemed to contemplate something before replying.

"I knew about them… because I have been fighting them even before I received my belt." She admitted.

"Even before, but how…" Sayaka wondered out loud before realization struck her. "Wait, are you saying…"

"Yes…" Homura said as she her left hand; on her middle finger was a silver ring with the same black symbols as Mami's ring… as her Soul Gem. "I am… a Magical Girl."

Sayaka's eyes widened in shock, but soon her expression went from the simply annoyed and frustrated from before, to just down right angry, and almost spiteful.

"I see, so Mami-san and Kyubey were right." She said as she clenched her fists. "The reason you attacked Kyubey was because you don't want any more competition in hunting Witches and collecting those rewards!" She accused, but Homura simply sighed in reply.

"I suppose that's a reasonable conclusion, considering the circumstances, but I assure you I have no intension of competing with Tomoe Mami or any other Magical Girl." Homura assured, though her monotone voice made any sort of sincerity difficult to see.

"Yeah sure, so creeping on Madoka all day to keep her from making a contract had nothing to do with not wanting another Magical Girl around to steal your thunder." Sayaka persisted with her suspicion.

"…You stupid girl." Homura said under her breath, just soft enough to go unnoticed. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out what seemed to be a strange black ball with silver ornate designs and most strikingly a needle like spike protruding from under it. "Do you know what this is?" She questioned the blunette.

"Hmm, no clue." Sayaka replied.

"This is called a Grief Seed, it the reward that Tomoe Mami had mentioned to you." Homura revealed, sparking Sayaka's interest.

"What, _that_ thing's the reward?" Sayaka said quizzically.

"Yes, when a Witch is defeated they usually leave behind these Grief Seeds, simply put it is a Witch's egg." Homura said.

"A Witch's… egg?" Sayaka repeated.

"If left to grow it will eventually give birth to a Witch, but in this benign form it is essential to a Magical Girl's continued existence.

"Continued… what do you mean?" Sayaka demanded.

"Magical Girls do not have unlimited power, any magic we use, of any kind, corrupts our Soul Gem, turning it darker." Homura began. "The only way to cleans a Soul Gem is by using a Grief Seed to absorb the excess corruption, once again allowing a Magical Girl to use her magic freely and continue hunting Witches." She explained.

"Ah, I see, that does sound like something Magical Girls would fight over." Sayaka said with a thoughtful hand on her chin, but as she processed this new information a thought occurred to her. "But wait, what if a Magical Girl can't get enough Grief Seeds and their Soul Gem gets completely corrupted, what happens to them?" She inquired. Homura seemed reluctant to answer, looking down at the Grief Seed in thought before replying.

"…It disappears and its owner's wish is revoked." She said, much to Sayaka's shock. "People seem to forget that being a Magical Girl and fighting witches is supposed to be the cost of having our wish granted, so long as we fulfill our purpose then we get to enjoy whatever miracle we asked for. But it is a lonely existence; normal people can't understand the responsibility we are shouldered with, and other Magical Girls will surely come into conflict with each other, all burdened with the knowledge that if we fail to collect enough Grief Seeds for ourselves then the miracle that we were granted will disappear, as if it had never even existed… it is a fate I wouldn't wish upon anyone, especially such an innocent, unsuspecting girl."

"…So what, you're saying that you were trying to off Kyubey to _protect_ Madoka?" Sayaka said, still unable to cast away her suspicion.

"And anyone else that creature would wish to approach." Homura replied before bringing out her Cutting Buckle. "I was lucky, this belt saved me from that painful existence, with this I can fulfill my duties without ever having to use a single drop of my magic, with this I no longer require the use of Grief Seeds, and so I no longer have to treat every Magical Girl I meet as a rival… as an enemy." She said as she gripped the device in her hand. Before Sayaka could reply Homura tossed the Grief Seed she held to her, the girl fumbling slightly to catch it. "Give that to Tomoe Mami, tell her it is a peace offering and that I have no intention of fighting with her." She said before the turned to leave.

"H-hey, just hold on a second!" Sayaka protested.

"Remember this Miki Sayaka," Homura said from over he shoulder. "Magical Girls do not fight for "love and justice", they fight for the sake of their own wishes, at least with this you can choose how you use your power." She stated as she showed off the belt one last time before leaving for the stairs. Sayaka looked at her until she could no longer see her, taking out her own Cutting Buckle as she pondered over everything Homura said.

* * *

"I see, so she was a Magical Girl after all." Mami said as she examined the Grief Seed gifted to her from Homura. After school, Sayaka and Madoka met up with Mami at the same mall they first met, the group now sitting at a table in a café as Sayaka relayed Homura's message.

"Yeah, and has been one for a long time by the sound of it." Sayaka confirmed before taking a sip of her drink.

"So, Magical Girls need these to replenish their magic?" Madoka said, hoping she understood clearly.

"Yes, one Grief Seed can be used about twice before it becomes too dangerous to give it any more corruption, disposing of the used up ones is also part of my job." Kyubey confirmed.

"Because they have a limited usage, most Magical Girls see it as ineffective to fight together since in the end only two Magical Girls can share a single Grief Seed, as a they encounter more and more powerful Witches it becomes harder to have a surplus of Grief Seeds to use." Mami explained. "To give away a Grief Seed like this, even if she claims to not need it, practically says it all in itself." She said the last part with a hint of relief in her voice, but also a bit of sadness that only Sayaka picked up on.

"That's great, so that means Homura-chan really is an ally after all!" Madoka said with glee.

"Well, at the very least I don't believe we have to worry about her causing us any problems." Mami replied more conservatively, though still quite relieved. "So Miki-san, did she say anything else to you, perhaps regarding the belt and lock?" She questioned, stopping Sayaka from drinking her beverage. She frowned a bit as she pulled away from the straw, pondering before nonchalantly sitting back in her chair with her arms crossed.

"Who knows, I honestly can't make heads or tails of anything that weirdo says in the first place." Sayaka huffed.

"Oh, I see, well that's a shame, I was hoping we could find out more about your powers." Mami lamented.

"Yeah, same here." Sayaka replied. Why was she hiding everything else Homura had said, about the depressing existence of the Magical Girls, about her reasons for attacking Kyubey, did she simply not trust her enough to take her explanations seriously, or perhaps she was afraid that bringing it up would show a lack of trust in Mami, whom she trusted much more then Homura. Either way, she just felt more comfortable keeping it to herself, at least until more details come to light.

"Well then, shall we get going?" Mami said as she stood from her seat. "I hope you girls are ready for a crash course in Witch Hunting." She said playfully, as if to ease any doubt the two girls had.

* * *

"The light hasn't changed at all." Sayaka observed. Hunting for Witches was essentially just a game of "Hot and Cold", following the glow of the Soul Gem until you eventually find the Witch. They had started back in the storage space they first encountered it and were now well into the more desolate part of town, crossing a bridge to an old district where very few people went.

"It' been a whole day since it escaped, there's very little left to track." Mami lamented as she stared intently at the crystal hoping to see a change in the glow's intensity.

"If you had gone after it yesterday…" Madoka began.

"I might have been able to defeat it, but it wasn't worth leaving you two behind." Mami assured, but it did little to ease Madoka's guilt.

"I'm sorry." She apologized with a lowered head.

"It's fine." Mami said with a slight giggle, like a mother comforting their child. Meanwhile Sayaka couldn't help but recall Homura's words.

'… _other Magical Girls will surely come into conflict with each other, all burdened with the knowledge that if we fail to collect enough Grief Seeds for ourselves then the miracle that we were granted will disappear…_ '

' _I see, so letting that Witch go… was actually a really big deal._ ' Sayaka thought, the guilt of requiring her assistance in the first place weighing on her.

* * *

Elsewhere, in the old district, a single woman walks, or rather stumbles, into an old, abandoned factory, the only use it has seen in years was by delinquents who had painted the walls with graffiti. The woman aimlessly wonders the open space of the factory, her body swaying back and forth as she eventually reached the stairs. Her eyes are looking forward but are blank and soulless, taking in just enough information to know where she is going.

"I've had it already… I get no respect at work, no man would look twice at me, and my friends barely even know I exist." She mumbled to herself as she climbed the stairs.

'… _My, what a pitiful existence you lead…_ ' A foreign voice in her head whispered to her.

"Yes, pitiful…" She replies softly.

'… _Perhaps it would be better if you just went and died…_ ' The voice suggested.

"I should just… go and die…" She says, her eyes glazing over even further.

' _...Yes, you should just die…_ ' The voice repeated, though this time it seemed more like an order, one that the lady had no intention of disobeying.

"I should just… die…" She whispered as she continued up the metal stairs. Suddenly, she took a wrong step and tripped, quickly grabbing the rail next to her to keep her balance. However, rather then the feeling of cold, rusted metal, she was met with a more… organic feeling, looking over to see that the part of the rail she had grabbed was wrapped in a luscious green vine.

"Huh… what is…?" She wondered out loud, following the out of place vegetation until she found the source, a small garden of strange flowers that was growing right on the bars of the rail, and of all of the strange plants she saw, her eyes were drawn to one in particular… a delicious looking purple fruit.

* * *

"Hey Mami-san, what'll you do if the Witch left the city?" Madoka asked.

"If that happened then it can't be helped, I will have to let it go and hope another Magical Girl defeats it." Mami lamented.

"Oh…" Madoka said, almost disappointed in the answer.

"Of course I would like to make sure that the Witch is dealt with, but wondering into another Magical Girl's territory… will just cause unnecessary problems." Mami said the last part with a bit of sadness, or perhaps regret, Sayaka couldn't quite place it, but she knew that Mami was speaking from experience.

"…Hey, Mami-san." Sayaka spoke, gaining her attention. "To become a Magical Girl, I have to make a wish, right?"

"Yes, that's right, why, have you changed your mind?" Mami replied almost teasingly.

"No, not really, I was just wondering… what kind of wish did you make Mami-san?" She asked. Suddenly, Mami stopped walking, causing the other girls to stop dead in their tracks as well.

"Ah, no, you don't have to say it if you don't want to, I was just… curious is all." Sayaka frantically tried to recover, feeling she had offended Mami by asking something personal.

"No, it's fine, I suppose you would be curious, and I feel you have the right to know." Mami replied, looking to her with a solemn smile. "You see, about two years ago… I was involved in a traffic accident." She began, her companions gasping in shock. "I can still remember it, my body crushed by the weight of the seats of my family's van, blood dripping down my face as I took shallow breaths desperate for air… and that's when I met Kyubey."

"Wait, so you mean…" Madoka realized.

"Yes, I was the only one to survive that accident, and it's all because I made a contract." Mami revealed. Madoka and Sayaka were shocked at this revelation, they thought back to any possible wish that had crossed their mind in the passed two days, all seeming quite insignificant now. "Don't get me wrong, I don't regret it, I think my current way of life is much better than having died back then." Mami assured. "But you know, if you have the choice, you should think it through, I want you girls to have the opportunity that I didn't get." With that said she began walking again, as if signaling them to drop the subject. Madoka followed after her in silent contemplation, while Sayaka just stood there, staring at the ground.

' _Mami-san's wish was… then the reason she's so serious about hunting Witches, is because if she doesn't, she'll…_ ' She couldn't even finish the thought, could the selfless, heroic Tomoe Mami really just be in it for herself?

"Eh, Sayaka-chan, what's wrong?" Madoka asked once she noticed Sayaka wasn't following. However, before the blunette could respond, Mami's Soul Gem began glowing furiously.

"It's reacting to some very powerful magic." Mami stated. The reached out in front of her and the glow got stronger, telling them where they needed to go. "It mush be close". They all rushed in the direction the Soul Gem was glowing in, eventually stumbling on an old, abandoned factory, the Soul Gem flashing vigorously.

"There's no doubt about it, it's here." Mami confirmed, glaring into the dark recesses of the abandoned building. "Stay close you two, it may already have a barrier set up." She warned, the girls nodding in confirmation before following her into the building. There seemed to be nothing inside, but once they got further in, Mami's Soul Gem flashed once again and suddenly a strange portal with a crown like symbol on it appeared at the top of the staircase ahead. "You're not getting away this time." Mami said with a determined smile. She held out her Soul Gem, about to unleash its power, when suddenly Madoka felt her left shoulder get wet, looking over to see a slimy, drool like liquid staining her uniform.

"Eh, what is… KYA!" She yelped as another glob of the substance fell on her hand as she reached for her shoulder.

"What's up Madoka?" Sayaka questioned. Just then, they heard a low growling sound echo off the walls, it was difficult to pin point where it was coming from, but they eventually realized that it originated from above them. They all looked up and saw a horrific looking creature hanging from the ceiling, letting out a low growl as it spread its bat like wings.

"WHOA! The hell is that!?" Sayaka questioned as she jumped back.

"Is that… a Witch?" Madoka wondered as she hugged Kyubey tightly for comfort.

"No, I don't think it is." Mami said, weary of the unidentified creature. With a horrible shriek, it let go of it perch and swooped down at the trio, the girls quickly ducking down to avoid a swipe from the creature's sword like appendage. In the moment it passed, Sayaka managed to get a good look at it, she recognized some of the markings on its skin from the monster she had defeated before.

"No way, Madoka, I think that's a Lock Monster!" Sayaka said Madoka instantly recognizing the nickname he had given the creatures.

"Lock Monster?" Mami said quizzically.

"It's a monster that can be summoned by the Fruit Locks." Madoka explained.

"Yeah, but the last one we saw went berserk and started attacked people." Sayaka added, her eyes never leaving the flying beast overhead. It dived down at them again, Sayaka reached for her belt but she knew she would get it on in time, however she felt a glow behind her and Mami in her Magical Girl form shot at it was one of her muskets, the creature unfortunately evading but was put off course. Mami quickly summoned another and shot at it again, the Lock Monster once again dodging, but Mami didn't give up, firing two more shots before finally nicking it in the foot, making it shriek in pain. Having had enough of being target practice, the Lock Monster flew out of the factory, the following it to see where it was headed.

"It's heading back to town!" Madoka said.

"Not good, if it gets to a place here a lot of people are…" Sayaka said urgently.

"Is it really that dangerous?" Mami questioned.

"If it's anything like that last one, yeah." Sayaka replied. Mami peeked back at the entrance to the Witch's barrier as the shriek of the creature echoed in the distance, there was no doubt in her mind what needed to be done.

"Well then, we better hurry, if we go now we can probably still catch up to it." Mami said, much to the girl's surprise.

"Huh?" Sayaka gasped.

"But Mami-san, what about the Witch?" Madoka reminded.

"I don't think it's noticed we were here yet, it should still be here later." Mami assured before looking back out where the Lock Monster had flown in. "If it really is a threat, then as the Magical Girl of this city, I can't just ignore it." She said with no small amount of determination.

"Mami-san…" Sayaka said, her eyes wide and sparkling with admiration as Homura's words echoed in her head.

'… _Magical Girls do not fight for "love and justice", they fight for the sake of their own wishes, at least with this you can choose what you do with your power…_ ' With that in mind, Sayaka narrowed her eye in determination.

"No, I can't let you do that Mami-san." Sayaka said.

"Ehh?" Mami gasped in shock.

"Sayaka-chan, why not?" Madoka asked in confusion.

"Mami-san, it's my fault you had to let that Witch go before, if I had just been able to properly protect Madoka… I can't let you ignore it again just for my sake!" Sayaka insisted, it was clear she wouldn't take no for answer.

"Miki-san… are you sure?" Mami asked with concern, despite what she said the night before, she was still unsure of Sayaka's fighting ability.

"Of course I am," She said with a confident grin. "When it comes to Lock Monsters _I'm_ the veteran here, I'll give that flying rat a good lashing just like I did last time!" Sayaka declared with a thumbs up. Mami was convinced, nodding her head in agreement.

"Alright, I understand Miki-san, just be careful." Mami replied.

"You to, Mami-san, and that goes double for you Madoka, make sure you stick to Mami like glue, got it!" Sayaka called to Madoka like a parent about to leave their child with a sitter.

"Uh, yes, good luck Sayaka-chan." Madoka replied, Sayaka winking back at her with a grin. With that Sayaka dashed off, her grin fading into a look of determination as she ran in the direction of the flying Lock Monster.

' _Mami-san, mysterious person who gave me this belt, thank you, thank you both, for giving me the opportunity to make this choice!_ ' She thought as she followed the sound of people's screams.

* * *

Back in town the Lock Monster had attacked a young woman, dropping her bag of groceries and letting all its contents spill out. The woman scooted away on the ground from the creature, but it seemed much more interested in the fruit that she dropped. It picked it up and sniffed at it before crushing it in its hands, turning its attention to the woman with an angry, feral growl.

"Hey, ugly!" Sayaka cried out, the Lock Monster turning around to face her allowing the woman to get away. "That's enough of your rampaging, I, Henshin Hero Sayaka, won't let you harm anyone in this city!" Sayaka declared as she took out her Cutting Buckle and strapped it on, pulling out the Fruit Lock in front of her. "Henshin!"

" _Raspberry!_ " The lock exclaimed as she opened it, summoning the Raspberry Armor Part above her. Sayaka swung her arm around dramatically before placing the Fruit Lock in the belt and closing it.

" _Lock On!_ " The belt announced before the standby music began playing, Sayaka taking a dramatic pause before slicing the lock open.

" _Hai! Raspberry Arms: Ji, an, HA-HA-HA!_ " The belt exclaimed as the Armor Part fell onto Sayaka and unfolded, completing the transformation as the Raspberry Jian appeared in her hands.

"Let's go!" Sayaka said, the Lock Monster letting out a fierce growl before charging forward. Sayaka blocked its blade arm with her right-handed Jian, slashing across the creature's gut with the left as she took a step forward, the two switching positions. Just as the creature turned back to face her, Sayaka slashed the creature across the chest with each of her swords before kicking it away. The creature tumbled to the floor but it quickly got back on its feet just in time to evade two slashes from Sayaka's blade, leaving her open for the Lock Monster to land a slash with its blade arm on her face, causing her to stagger long enough for the beast to land two more slashes on her chest before jabbing her in the gut, sending her falling to the ground a few feet away. Sayaka struggled with the pain for a moment before the Lock Monster approached her, dashing forward with its blade raised to end her life, but just as it got in range Sayaka lifted both of her legs and kicked it in the gut, sending it into the air. However, the Lock Monster took a moment and regained its composure in the air, spreading its wings and hovering over the Henshin Hero as she stood back up.

The Lock Monster swooped down and clashed blades with Sayaka momentarily before immediately retreating back into the sky. It then circled back and slashed at Sayaka again, this time managing to nick her in the chest before elevating away to avoid retaliation. It kept doing this a couple more times, sometimes Sayaka would block a strike and other times she couldn't, but try as she might she just couldn't manage to get a solid hit on the beast with it flying around. Eventually, the beast just hung in the air above Sayaka before firing what can only be described as a breath of purple energy down upon her, sparks flying from her armor as she came in contact with the cloud and eventually forcing her back, dropping her twin blades. Sayaka moaned in pain and exhaustion, her armor still smoking as the Lock Monster brandished its blade arm and dived down towards her ready to finisher her. However, just before it got too close, four bullets of light were fired at it, forcing it down out of the sky and rolling on the ground away from the downed Sayaka.

"Eh, what was…?" She began, but quickly found her answer, looking up to see the familiar armored form of Homura, pointing the Musou Saber's gun barrel at where the Lock Monster was just flying.

"Transfer student?" Sayaka said as she stood back up.

"What are you doing here?" Homura asked.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on, shouldn't that be my line?" Sayaka rebuked, but Homura paid no mind.

"Why aren't you fighting the Witch with Tomoe Mami?" She inquired with a slight edge in her voice.

"T-that's none of your business, is it?" Sayaka replied indignantly as she went to go pick up her weapons. "You were the one who said I could choose what I do with my power." The moment she regained her Raspberry Jian the Lock Monster also regained its composure was prepared to continue their battle. "…You were wrong by the way." Sayaka said before she charged at the creature.

"Wrong?" Homura said quizzically.

"What you said before, about Magical Girls only fighting for themselves, it's not true!" She explained as she clashed blades with the Lock Monster.

"I assume you are referring to Tomoe Mami." Homura deduced.

"…Mami-san, even though she knew Lock Monsters don't drop Grief Seeds… even though she knew she wouldn't be able to replenish her magic afterwards… even though her life depends on getting as many Grief Seeds as she can, she… still wanted to go after this Lock Monster instead of fighting the Witch!" Sayaka elaborated between clashing with the Lock Monster, the creature taking flight once again in the middle of her speech.

"I don't care what you say, Mami-san is definitely an Ally of Justice… she puts the safety of the city above that "burden" you say she carries… that's why the best way for me to help her… is to make sure she doesn't waste her magic on anything besides Witches!" The Lock Monster dived down at her, bringing a downward slash to her head as Sayaka crossed her swords in a block, the two opponents struggling to gain the upper hand as they clashed.

"These Lock Monsters, and anything else that threatens this city, I'll take care of them myself if I have to. This is something only I can do, this is… my responsibility!" She declared, as she broke free of the clash, making the creature stumble back. However, it immediately took flight again, staying just out of Sayaka's reach. Homura that Sayaka was brutally honest when it came to things such as justice and heroism, she couldn't doubt the sincerity in her words or the determination in each frantic swing of her sword.

"Hmph, I suppose that's not a bad answer." Homura said to herself before loading the Musou Saber. Just as the Lock Monster pulled away from Sayaka, Homura shot it square in the back, forcing it back to the ground.

"Huh?" Sayaka gasped in surprise at the assist.

"You're at a severe disadvantage at long range Miki Sayaka, I will keep it in range." Homura stated, not even turning to look at her. Sayaka couldn't help but crack an appreciative smile behind her helmet.

"Heh, do whatever you want!" Sayaka replied before reengaging the Lock Monster, she landed two solid strikes to the creature's chest, but as she went for a cross slash the Lock Monster ascended into the air, avoiding it. Homura, as promised, fired at the creature, though it managed to evade the projectiles, however before the bullets even fully passed by Homura immediately turned the weapon in the direction the creature was headed, firing at just the right moment for the last two bullets to hit their mark right out of sky. As it attempted to stand, Sayaka brought her two swords down on it, the Lock Monster blocking with its blade arm only for Sayaka to kick it in the face, sending it rolling back. The Lock Monster took the extra distance to get back into the air, however Homura had already changed positions waiting for it, firing at its wings to ensure that it fell back down. Before it even hit the ground Sayaka leaped up and cross-slashed the creature, once it was on the ground Sayaka walked up and jabbed her Jian into its torso as if to pin it to the ground.

However, the moment it was pinned, the creature breathed another stream of purple energy at her, forcing her back a few feet and allowing the creature to get its bearings. Suddenly, a pleasant sent hit its nostrils, the familiar sent that it was searching for all along, it looked up and noticed a strange zipper like rift in a nearby alleyway just out of sight, within was what seemed to be a tree with the sweet, sweet fruit it craved growing on it just ripe for the taking. The moment it saw it, the Lock Monster dashed for it, staying close to the ground to ensure it was not fired at again.

"Whoa, h-hold on, here do you think you're going!" Sayaka cried as she began to run after it, completely oblivious to the tear. Homura wasn't however, she never saw anything like it before, or rather she did, the portals that their armor parts were summoned from.

"Wait, Miki Sayaka!" She called, but was ignored. "Tch, honestly!" She cursed under her breath as she chased after them. The Lock Monster nimbly dived into the zipper, Sayaka giving chase and a reluctant Homura following close by, as soon as the purple warrior slipped through the zipper closed up, disappearing as if it had never been there to begin with.

* * *

Homura was the only one to take note of their new surroundings, contrasting the city that they had just been fighting it, they were now in a strange, but luscious green forest, a light mist covering everything giving it a rather mystical feel to it.

Sayaka on the other hand paid no mind to the change in environment; she was too focused on the escaping Lock Monster, who took flight as soon as it entered the forest.

"You're not getting away!" Sayaka declared as she sliced down on the Lockseed twice.

" _Hai! Raspberry Au Lait!_ " The belt announced as the Raspberry Jian was immediately covered with pinkish red energy. Sayaka threw the swords up into the air and from them generated three identical sword constructs that all fell to the ground, pinning themselves into the ground surrounding Sayaka. The armored warrior pulled out a construct and threw it at the Lock Monster, the creature unfortunately evading it as well as the one following it. However, the third sword managed to impale the creature's shoulder, making it screech in pain as its flight pattern was disrupted. Remarkably, the fourth sword, one of the real Raspberry Jian, was thrown right at the wound Mami's musket had made, stabbing right through the Lock Monster's foot and pinning it to a nearby tree.

"THIS IS IT!" Sayaka cried as she pulled out the last sword, overflowing with energy, and threw it at the frantic Lock Monster, the energy taking the form of a spiraling raspberry before exploding on contact with the creature, damaging even the tree as the Raspberry Jian fell to the ground. "Ha, ha, we did it!" Sayaka cried with joy, raising her hand up for a celebratory high five with Homura. However, rather then her hand, Homura smacked Sayaka on the forehead.

"Idiot, don't just go running into strange portals like that!" Homura scolded as Sayaka rubbed the spot she had hit, only to realize the helmet was in the way.

"It couldn't be helped, we had to make sure the Lock Monster wouldn't harm anyone again!" Sayaka protested as she went over and picked up her weapons from the grassy floor. It was then that she finally took a look at her surroundings, a blank look appearing behind her helmet. "So, where are we?"

"How should I know?" Homura replied indignantly. However, Homura was rather troubled by this, she really didn't have any idea where they were.

' _A Witch's barrier perhaps?_ ' Homura thought to herself. ' _No, it feels a little different from that, more… alien._ ' She reasoned, though no closer to an answer. Sayaka looked around for herself at the strange fauna around them, until her eyes fell on some strange looking fruit.

"Huh, oh, hey, check this out." Sayaka said, gaining Homura's attention. "Ohhhh, don't these fruit look really tasty?" She cooed happily.

"I don't think that would be such a good idea." Homura said, knowing exactly what Sayaka was thinking… because somehow she couldn't help but think the same as she gazed as the fruit. However, Sayaka didn't listen and picked out a good-looking one.

"Maybe I should bring some back for Mami-san and Madoka." She said as she plucked the fruit from the vine. However, she didn't have the chance to admire it since as soon as it was in her hand it began glowing. "Eh?" She said quizzically before the glow faded, revealing the familiar looking shape of a Fruit Lock. "EHHHH!?" She cried in shock, regaining Homura's attention.

"What's wrong?" She inquired.

"The fruit…" She began as she stared at the transformed fruit in her hand, this time the Fruit Lock depicting what seemed to be a sunflower seed, L.S.-00 printed on it in the same stylized black letters. She couldn't believe it herself and so she tried it again, picking another fruit and just like before it glowed and changed form, this time it looked much more sturdy, depicting a green lime with L.S.-19 printed on it. "Look, it turned into a Fruit Lock!" She declared, showing off the Lime Fruit Lock.

"What the…" Homura said, equally as shocked. She looked at the vine of fruit and hesitantly picked one herself, once again the fruit changed into a lock, this one depicting what Homura recognized as a Dragon Fruit with L.S.-22 printed on it. "It's true! Then does that mean... all of these fruits…" She said in awe as she looked around at all of trees that barred the strange fruit.

"This forest, it's… a gold mine of new powers!" Sayaka exclaimed, Homura stumbling from the sheer stupidity of the remark.

"Hey, take this seriously, this is a big discovery here!" Homura stated.

"You bet it is, with all of these new Fruit Locks, no evil will stand a chance against Henshin Hero Sayaka and her sidekick!" Sayaka declared with glee.

"Sidekick, who are you call…" Homura began, but cut herself off as she caught sight of something concerning.

"Fine, fine, partner, teammate, whatever, let's just get picking!" Sayaka waved off her complaint as she picked another fruit from the vine.

"Uh, Miki Sayaka…" Homura said, trying to get her attention.

"Oh, this time it's a cherry!" Sayaka said as the sight of a new lock, L.S.-20.

"Hey, Miki Sayaka!" Homura shouted.

"Hm, what, you find a good one?" Sayaka replied.

"Look!" Homura cried pointing passed her. Sayaka did as told and snapped at attention at the sight. Coming towards them, growling rather angrily, was three almost identical looking creatures, only the color of their skins exposed from their shells differing in color.

"Wah, what are those, Lock Monsters?" Sayaka questioned nervously.

"And they're not alone." Homura said, turning Sayaka's attention in the other direction, another trio of Lock Monsters approaching.

"Uh, I think I know what this forest is now." Sayaka said as she stored away her new Lockseeds and brandished her Raspberry Jian.

"Yes, it's where the Lock Monsters live." Homura stated, loading her Musou Saber, back turned to Sayaka's, preparing for battle.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, there you guys have it, chapter 3. I know, I know, there was still quite a bit of cannon stuff in this chapter, but I couldn't help it, Sayaka and Madoka still needed Magical Girls and Witches explained to them and I did add some new parts in there, so it's fine right… right? Fine, but at least I didn't revisit the fight with Gertrud, and believe me, I was considering it in the early stages of planning for this chapter, but I think this works better, wouldn't you agree? And as for Homura's explanation of what happens to corrupted Soul Gems, of course she knows what really happens, but I don't think it was ever explained what the Magical Girls think happens, so I took it upon myself to come up with an explanation, so yeah. Well anyway, I hope you guys had a great New Years, fingers crossed 2017 doesn't such ask much as 2016, and I'll see you guys later, and don't forget to R &R please.**


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